Daniele Rustioni returns to the Ulster Orchestra

19. November 2018

«The Ulster Orchestra, under the baton of the distinguished young conductor Daniele Rustioni, continued its successful 2018-19 season with music by Busoni, Mozart and Schubert in a well-filled Ulster Hall. (…) Under the direction of Rustioni, this was a stately and measured performance of this truly “great” symphony, which finally burst into life in the finale. Schubert was never a composer to waste a good tune and he repeated the main theme all the way to its triumphant climax, to sustained and deserved applause. The Ulster Orchestra is looking for a new principal conductor, and Maestro Rustioni, on his third visit to Belfast, has certainly made his mark.»Belfast Telegraph, Alf McCreary

«Belfast is no stranger to husband and wife teams on the stage together, tonight was the turn of Daniele Rustioni and Francesca Dego. Before their rendition of the youthful Mozart’s Third Violin Concerto, the “Strassburg”, the evening opened with Busoni’s neoclassical Comedy Overture. Written in a single night in 1897, this fervent piece was played with vivacious energy. The orchestral playing was well balanced, the tempo well-paced, allowing for a sense of fun to develop. Rustioni brought out all the colours and with each change of key he carefully changed the orchestral palette. (…) With glimmers of light on the horizon, a gentle, measured and precise horn call opened Schubert’s Symphony no. 9 in C major, the “Great”. (…) There was a genuine sense of a musical conversation as different ideas were passed from section to section. Woodwind playing was articulate, punctuating the strings with beauty. Climaxes in the music were handled with poise and dignity, unison passages had a crystal clear clarity and precision. An increasing tempo towards the end heightened the excitement and exuberantly intensified the sense of drama. (…) From the outset the second movement had a distinctive change of character; gone was the sunshine of the first movement as Rustioni created a darker, almost sinister character. (…) One got a sense the orchestra and conductor had enjoyed this journey through Schubert’s symphonic masterpiece. This was a concert to relish. This was the Ulster Orchestra on form. Schubert tested the players stamina to the very end but they never faultered. The sound throughout the evening was balanced, the transparency of the Ulster Hall acoustic allowing each layer of sound to be appreciated with clarity, all eloquently directed by Rustioni.»bachtrack, Leighton Jones